


The Green-Eyed Monster

by superkitten



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Comedy, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, One Shot, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 01:03:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16075121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superkitten/pseuds/superkitten
Summary: Green was not Jane's color.





	The Green-Eyed Monster

**Author's Note:**

> Jealous Jane makes sense, doesn't it? This thing popped up in my head, I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> BTW, I haven't abandoned/forgotten about In Vino Veritas-- my muse has been working in mysterious ways and I've been writing later chapters for that story, which means I can't post anything yet. Hopefully soon. Please stick with it! 
> 
> Drinking game idea-- take a shot every time you see the word 'Stephanie' in this story.
> 
> (I was kidding, please don't, I don't want anyone to die of alcohol poisoning).

Jane thought nothing of it at first.

Draft in hand, she was making her way to Jacqueline's office when Andrew's monotone voice stopped her. "She is not available right now."

Looking up Jane finally noticed Jacqueline had company. She didn't even pay attention to who it was, barely seeing the back of a woman's head before mumbling "Sorry," and returning to her desk.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, with Jacqueline entering and leaving her office in a hurry, and Jane had no time to see or talk to her.

When Tuesday rolled around, she tried to catch Jacqueline alone in her office after lunch. When she was, once again, stopped by Andrew, Jane frowned and peered into the glass walls to see the back of the same head from the day before. This time sitting on the couch next to Jacqueline.

"Is that Stephanie?" asked Jane to Andrew.

"Yes," he replied in a disinterested voice. "After this appointment, Jacqueline has a conference call with advertisers, and then a meeting with the board, so... I suggest you e-mail."

Before she could reply to Andrew she heard laughter coming from the office and looked up in time to see Stephanie throwing her head back, and Jacqueline's amused smile. Jane was intrigued by the scene, but snapping out of it, after shooting Andrew a look, she once again walked away.

Annoyed, she decided to follow his suggestion and e-mail Jacqueline asking to meet her to discuss her article.

On Wednesday her boss didn't show up at the office at all -- and considering Andrew was nowhere to be seen either, Jane knew they'd gone somewhere on Scarlet business. So when Jane didn't receive a reply right away, she wasn't surprised.

The reply came on Thursday evening when she was already home. Jane was having dinner with Kat and Sutton when she got the alert on her phone. Excited, she opened the message, only to realize it was a one-line reply from Jacqueline instructing her to e-mail the article, and that and she would return it to her with her notes.

Draining her glass of wine, Jane couldn't help but sulk, resting her chin against her hand, and playing with her food.

"What's wrong?" asked Sutton.

"Nothing, it's just... I've been trying to meet with Jacqueline all week, and she keeps blowing me off."

"She's probably crazy busy--" started Kat.

"She's always crazy busy," retorted Jane, interrupting her. "And anyway, she's not too busy for _Stephanie_." Jane knew she was pouting at this point, but couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Stephanie from the writing team?"

"Yes," mumbled Jane. "I've seen her in Jacqueline's office almost every day this week. She was there again today. And when I asked Jacqueline to see her, she said no. And not even to my face."

"Careful of the green-eyed monster, tiny Jane," said Kat, exchanging an amused look with Sutton.

"Kat is right -- green is not your color, babe," added the blonde.

Ignoring her friends, Jane went back to her pity party, pouring herself another glass of wine.

* * *

The first few days of the following week weren't much better for Jane.

Like a flower without sunlight, Jane felt she was wilting without Jacqueline. She couldn't remember ever going this long without spending some alone time with her, and she didn't care for the sensation. They'd barely exchanged two words at last week's pitch meeting, and that was the last time they'd spoken.

When she saw her boss exiting her office to look at the layout photos on the wall, Jane saw her window of opportunity. She started getting up from her chair, but before she could walk up to Jacqueline, there was Stephanie, making her way over to catch her attention. _Un-_ freakin _-believable_ , she thought, staring at the scene before her like it was a train wreck.

"So you've noticed it too, huh?" said Alex, laying back against his chair and looking at Jane. Startled, she looked down at him, before looking once again at the two women, and distractedly replied, "What?"

He just nodded with his head towards Jacqueline and Stephanie, who appeared to be having an animated chat.

"Looks like there's a new golden girl in the house," he said, teasing Jane. When her face fell, he said, wide-eyed, "I was joking-- please don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" said Jane, attempting to control her features, having no idea if she was successful.

"Like I just ran over your puppy or something," he explained.

Attempting to smile at Alex, Jane grabbed her phone and made her way to the fashion closet, texting Kat and Sutton on the way.

She needed to do something. It was time to come up with a plan.

* * *

 

"Oh, look who it is," said Andrew in a sarcastic tone, stirring his cup of tea as he watched the three friends enter the kitchen. "Sugar, Spice, and Everything... Not Nice," he said with a fake smile, looking pointedly at Jane as he said the last part. She squinted, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at him, only succeeding because she needed something from the guy.

"Are you saying we're the Powerpuff Girls?" asked Kat. "Cuz I'm weirdly digging that."

They stared at him expectantly without saying anything for a moment or two. Rolling his eyes, Andrew said, "What do you want? Spill."

"You're the one with the tea, my friend, literally and figuratively speaking," said Sutton, siding up to him and touching his shoulder. "Can you come with us to the closet so we can have a little chat?" She said, looking around, knowing they needed privacy. Sutton was the people person; men loved her, and, luckily for Jane, her charm also seemed to work on gay men, if Oliver as any indication. Still, it was probably out of curiosity more than anything else that Andrew set his tea down on the counter and followed the three girls to the closet, iPad in hand.

As they got there, Sutton closed the door and cut right to the chase.

"The thing is, Andrew-- you know everything that goes on around here," the blonde said, tucking her hair behind the ears, trying to seem impressed.

"Yes, well, my position does come with certain... advantages," he said, clearly flattered, even as he appeared a little suspicious.

"Yes, it does. You see-- we need some info," she added sweetly, eyeing his iPad.

"What sort of... 'info'?", he asked, definitely suspicious now, his gaze flicking between the three girls, as he moved to hold his device protectively to his chest.

"You're in charge of the boss lady's schedule," added Kat. "We've noticed she's been meeting with Stephanie Bromer a lot this week and were just wondering---"

"You mean _she_ has noticed," he deadpanned, looking at Kat but pointing with his thumb at Jane, who gasped and started making weird faces and stuttering. "What, wh--"

Ignoring her friend's reaction, Sutton went straight to the point, "Regardless. We need to know why they've been meeting."

"And what makes you think I'd tell you anything? It's none of your business who Jacqueline meets or why," he said, sounding offended now.

"We can assure you our intentions are--," Kat'd almost said 'pure', but she knew Jane's thoughts were anything but where Jacqueline was concerned and couldn't bring herself to use that word. "It's all for the greater good."

"And what happens in the fashion closet, stays in the fashion closet," assured Sutton, giving Andrew a pointed look.

"No way."

"Come on," said Sutton.

"I wouldn't betray Jacqueline's trust like that."

"It's not a betr--"

"Everyone has a price, Andrew. Name yours," said Jane with a flat tone, interrupting Sutton. They needed to get through to him, and since flattery was getting them nowhere, bribery was the next logical step.

"There must be something you want," added Sutton, in a gentler tone than Jane's. "We just need to sneak a peek at her schedule."

After a long pause that made Jane break into a cold sweat, he finally said. "Perhaps... we could come to some sort of arrangement..."

"Great! What can we do for you?"

"Your Paris Fashion Week loot."

"Hmmm?"

"Don't play dumb, Brady -- I know Oliver hooked you up. I want dibs on your pile of freebies."

A pained look came upon Sutton's features, but she quickly recovered and said, "You get to pick two accessories, that's it."

"Five items total, including clothing."

"Two, and I get first pick."

"Three and _I_ get first pick."

The two locked eyes, silently daring the other one to blink or look away first. Sutton finally relented with a sigh, saying, "Fine. But my stuff is at my apartment, and we need the information now, so we're just gonna have to shake on it."

After she extended her hand, Andrew shook it, with a huge smile on his face.

"Just so you know, the Balenciaga bag is now mine."

"Fuck!", said Sutton.

"I really appreciate you," said Jane, moving to hug her friend from behind.

"You better appreciate me--you better name your first born after me."

"This is all very nice and sweet, but I do have a job to do, so...", Andrew said, unlocking his iPad and carefully setting it down on the couch before making his way out the closet. "I'll be back in about five minutes. Toodles."

As soon as he was out the door, Jane lunged for the iPad, accessing Andrew's calendar app as Sutton and Kat gathered around her. "Dammit!"

"All it says under her name is 'mentoring session'. What sort of mentoring are we talking about?", asked Kat.

"That cost me a Balenciaga bag?!" said Sutton, fuming.

Minutes later, they saw the door open. "I seem to have misplaced my-- oh look, there it is," said Andrew, playing dumb, reaching for his iPad.

"Not so fast, mister. You tricked us," said Sutton, frowning, as an equally upset Jane moved the device out of Andrew's reach.

"I didn't trick anyone, you said you wanted to look at her schedule - that's her schedule."

"It didn't say anything, and you're usually much more meticulous about that sort of stuff for your reports. What do they talk about during those 'sessions'?" asked Jane.

"I'm more meticulous when she volunteers more information. Which she didn't this time. And I don't eavesdrop."

As the three of them shot Andrew an incredulous look, he admitted, "Well, I do, when it's something actually worth listening to, but Jacqueline's pathetic lovesick underlings are of no interest to me," said Andrew, his eyes focusing on Jane, who, this time, was left speechless.

"Your intel was faulty at best, so you get two items for your efforts, and the bag is out," said Sutton. Grabbing the iPad from Jane's hand, who was still frozen on the spot after Andrew's words, she basically threw it at him and said, "Now beat it."

Andrew looked like he was about to protest, but at the murderous look on Sutton's face, he backed off. "Tomorrow - bring the stuff," he said with a raised finger, before leaving.

"Jane, are you ok? You're looking a little pale there," asked Kat, rubbing her left arm.

"What did Andrew mean? _Lovesick_ \--"

"He was probably just messing with you."

"I don't give a damn what he thinks about me - what's the deal with... _her_ and Jacqueline though?" she asked, moving to take a seat on the couch.

"There's probably no deal, Jane. Look, we've already touched on your..."

"...'Special snowflake syndrome'?", complemented Sutton.

"I was going to say 'unhealthy sense of entitlement', but that seems like an accurate, if somewhat judgemental, diagnosis," agreed Kat, sighing, and Jane just rolled her eyes. "The point is--and I can't believe I actually have to say this to you-- Jacqueline has other people that... work for her and... require her attention... from time to time."

"It can't be the Jane Show 24/7, so put on your big girl panties and deal with it!", said Sutton.

At the wide-eyed looks on both Kat and Jane's faces, she said, "I was just going for tough love - was that too much?"

"Ouch?" said Jane, touching her chest. "I'm already fragile here."

"Sorry. I just can't believe I was almost out of a Balenciaga bag for that pitiful intel. And now I'm invested in this drama, I need to know what they've been talking about!"

"Perhaps there is another way..." said Jane, looking at Sutton, her eyes suddenly sparkling.

"Uh oh, I know that look," the blonde said. "Nothing good happens after that look."

"I was just thinking... there's a certain someone who happens to be good friends with Jacqueline and could very well know something..."

It took a few seconds for Sutton to connect the dots, and when she finally did, she widened her eyes and said, "Oh no, don't even think about it."

"Please, just ask Richard if he's heard anything about Stephanie."

"Nope."

"Just, like, mention her name in passing, and see if he says anything."

Taking a deep breath, Sutton replied, "If I do this, I'm gonna be VERY casual about it--"

"So casual. Totally _cazj_ ," agreed Jane, nodding vigorously.

"OR-- and here's a crazy idea-- you could just... ask Jacqueline about it?" suggested Kat.

"HA, very funny."

"Why's it funny? You could just try and be totally 'cazj' about it," said Sutton, mocking Jane.

"Except I'm pretty sure I'm missing the gene that would allow me ever to be 'cazj' around Jacqueline Carlyle."

"She does have a point there," said Kat, looking at Sutton and then Jane. "Looks like Richard Hunter is your only hope."

The girls let out a sigh before Jane finally got up from the couch and the three headed for the door.

"Oh, just for the record-- I'm Blossom," said Jane, turning around to look at her friends.

"No way, you're such a Buttercup!" disagreed Kat.

"We all know I'm Blossom," piped up Sutton.

"... Says Bubbles," said Jane.

"We can agree on that, at least," concluded Kat.

* * *

 

Richard had no idea who Stephanie Bromer was.

Still digesting the disappointing news, Jane was doing her best to follow her two best friends' advice and not stress over the whole Stephanie situation -- which, they insisted, she didn't even know was a "situation" in the first place. _Except it totally was_ , anyway she sliced it. Even from a platonic standpoint, best case scenario, the girl was diverting Jacqueline's focus from Jane, and that was completely unacceptable. Worst case scenario, well... Jane couldn't even go there without seeing red. Who did this chick think she that she thought she could just waltz in and _steal_ \--

"What did that poor salad do to you?"

Startled by the voice, she looked up and saw Ryan. So it wasn't at an elevator that they'd meet today, but at a restaurant. Slightly different, but definitely not unprecedented. Jane was convinced the guy had placed a tracking device on her somewhere-- she made a mental note to check her stuff later.

Looking down at her plate, Jane finally noticed she had, quite unconsciously, stabbed her Caesar salad to death with her fork, and the tiny pieces of vegetable and croutons, combined with the dressing, created a giant, gooey mess. She pushed away her plate, making a disgusted face.

"I've been watching you for a minute or so-- I figured I'd intervene before you decided to channel that aggression away from your food and towards a living being," he said, taking a seat across from her.

"That's noble of you, but my 'aggression', as you call it, has a target. Innocent bystanders are safe."

"Well, good -- people at Safford Tower breathe a sigh of relief."

"Not _everyone_ at Safford Tower should..." Jane mumbled under her breath, before taking a sip of her ice tea.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Sloan, you're clearly dealing with something here. You know I'm your guy. How can I be of service?"

Sighing, Jane rested her arms flat over the table and looked up from her glass at Ryan. "There's one thing you can do to help."

"Name it."

* * *

 

Later Jane would realize that had been a very, very stupid thing to do -- which Pinstripe had warned her about, but Jane being Jane, didn't listen. As she carefully stepped off the elevator and did her best to walk in a straight line, she tried to remember how she had gotten away with having a "liquid lunch" the last time. As it turns out, last time all of Scarlet was in celebration mode, with the relaunch of digital, and no one was paying attention to her. Not to mention, soon afterward she found herself in a car with her two best friends headed to Sutton's hometown. There had simply been no time to make a spectacle of herself then.

Now was a different story, however, and Jane felt her chances of pulling this off were basically 50/50. Right now her mission was making it to her desk without incident. She thought she was doing well, too, but for some reason or another, she'd already attracted a couple of strange looks. Maybe her cheeks were a little flushed and her eyes a little glazed, but she was, luckily, steady on her feet. _Small victories_.

Having successfully arrived at her desk in one piece, Jane started drinking from her water bottle. A couple of hours later, after a cup of coffee brought over by a helpful Kat, along with a silent scolding she chose to ignore, she was almost feeling human again. Not sober, exactly, but almost pleasantly tipsy.

Not for long, however. Soon enough, like clockwork, she saw Stephanie Bromer get up from her desk and make her way over to Andrew, no doubt to ask him if Jacqueline was ready to see her. And right after that, she entered her office.

Getting up from her desk, she slowly made her way towards Jacqueline's office. In her state, however, Jane wasn't exactly worried about being inconspicuous about it, drawing Andrew's attention.

"Jacqueline is in a meeting," he said to her, unnecessarily.

"I can see that," mumbled Jane, not paying attention to him and staring into the glass walls of her boss' office, just in time to watch Stephanie smile and take a seat across from Jacqueline. At least they weren't sitting closely together on the couch, she thought.

"You should go back to your desk. If her schedule opens up I'll let you know," Andrew said with a fake smile and in a tone that said he would be doing no such thing.

Jane just stood there, frozen on the spot, and watched Jacqueline and the girl chatting.

"Seriously. Shoo," Andrew said now, making a dismissing gesture with his hands, annoyed she wasn't listening.

Not long after that Jane felt both her arms being grabbed and next thing she knew she was being dragged to the fashion closet. She couldn't help but remember the first time this had happened, on her first day as a writer at Scarlet, and her heart broke, even as she vocalized her displeasure at being handled like this by her two friends - drawing some unwanted attention, including from the two people in the office she had been peering into.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" protested Jane, but Sutton and Kat only let go of her to basically shove her into the closet before getting in themselves and closing the door behind them.

"Sweetie, what was that?" asked Sutton.

"What was what?" frowned Jane.

"It looked like you were a few seconds away from doing something really stupid," said Kat.

"I wasn't going to do anything, I was just--"

"Staring at Jacqueline and Stephanie like a creep? You were starting to draw attention to yourself."

"Yes, well, I'm sure the two of you dragging me away didn't help in that regard."

"Desperate times..."

Sighing, Jane laid down on the sofa, moving until her upper body was hanging upside down. "I don't know what to dooooo," she whined.

"There is nothing to do," Sutton said gently.

Jane closed her eyes.

"Look, you're in no condition to be here. We're just gonna go grab your things and call you an Uber. We'll tell Jacqueline you weren't feeling well and had to go home."

"Stay put!" Kat told Jane, as she and Sutton got out of the closet and closed the door.

A few moments later, Jane heard the door open. Her eyes still closed, she said, "I don't think I can move just yet."

"Why not? Are you ok?"

That was definitely not Kat, nor Sutton. Gulping before slowly opening her eyes Jane saw Jacqueline -- Jacqueline's legs, more accurately, which, as always, were a sight to behold, especially in a pair of killer Louboutins and a tight, black pencil skirt. She slowly moved her gaze upwards until she noticed the puzzled look on her boss' face.

"I'm just... not feeling well. Something I had for lunch," Jane said, slowly, trying to enunciate her words carefully so as not to draw attention to the fact she had a buzz going on...

... which, judging by Jacqueline's raised eyebrow, hadn't worked at all.

"Sutton and Kat are getting my things and taking me home... if that's ok with you."

"Sure. Let me know if you need anything," Jacqueline said after a couple of seconds, before turning around and making her way towards the door once again.

Jane's small voice stopped her. 

"Is she the new me?"

"What? Who?" Jacqueline replied, turning around, more confused than ever.

Taking a breath, Jane used both her hands to scoot down on the couch and take a proper seat. Once she was in an upright position and turned towards Jacqueline the blood rushed back down to her body, and her head started hurting like a motherf--. "Ow, ow, ow," she said, pressing the heel of her hand against her forehead.

Jane was in so much pain she didn't even notice Jacqueline leaving the closet and returning until her fingers pried her own hand away from her face and handed her a couple of Advil and a cold bottle. "That was not a good idea," said Jacqueline, watching as Jane took a few gulps of water to wash down her pills before resting the bottle against her aching head. Jane didn't know whether her boss was talking about the drinking or her sitting upside down on the couch. Both had been stupid decisions.

"Not my first bad one today," mumbled Jane in reply, eyes closed.

"What do you mean, 'is she the new me?'' Who are you talking about?"

"Please forget I said anything."

"Jane, if I'm going to ignore the fact you showed up to work intoxicated, the least you can do is be honest with me," replied Jacqueline, arms crossed, her patience wearing thin. She was angry, and she was clearly disappointed in Jane, who didn't even know which was worse.

"Now, let me ask you again - what are you talking about?"

"Stephanie," Jane clarified, in a tiny voice, her gaze fixed on a rack of clothes behind Jacqueline, to her right.

"Stephanie..." asked Jacqueline, her brows knitted.

"The Stephanie you've been spending all your time for the past ten days or so. The Stephanie that's keeping me from poking into your office to show you what I'm working on or just say hi like I've always done. The Stephanie that... gets to spend time alone with you when I--" Jane said, stopping to take a deep breath and keep herself from saying more than she already had. "That... Stephanie."

_The Stephanie that you've been drinking tea and laughing with when you used to do those things with me._

Luckily she refrained from saying the last bit.

Jane had never felt so embarrassed or more like a needy child in her life. But drunk Jane was honest Jane, and when you added Jacqueline to the mix, well, you had a recipe for disaster. "You don't have to say anything-- you don't owe me an explanation, or anything, really, I shouldn't have asked--", she rambled. Her head was beating like a drum, she couldn't think, so she definitely shouldn't be speaking right now.

"It hurts you."

Jacqueline's surprised tone of voice, and the way she quickly said that almost like it'd slipped out, made Jane lift her gaze to finally look her in the eye.

"Yes," said Jane. And somehow she felt she had admitted more by saying that one tiny word than with her rant before.

Jacqueline shook her head as if coming out of a trance. Sighing, she moved to sit next to her on the couch.

"Okay," Jacqueline said, slowly, once again speaking like she was talking to herself. "Okay. Where to begin..."

"Please don't make me say anything else," Jane begged. "I don't want to make an even bigger fool of myself than I already have."

"I'm not. I really don't think I should," she said.

If before Jane was embarrassed, now she was absolutely mortified. "I'm so sorry," she said. The tears started coming out, and there was nothing she could do about it, except try and hide her face from view by lowering her head, her hair a curtain around her.

A few moments later she could see her hair being lifted off her face and gently tucked behind her ear. Fingers gently caressed her cheek for a brief, blissful moment before pulling away. Out of the corner of her eye, Jane could see Jacqueline making a fist with that hand before placing it on her lap.

A few moments of silence followed, and then she heard.

"Here is something I can say."

Jane wiped away her tears and held her breath.

"There is only one Jane Sloan."

That made her smile. She still couldn't look at Jacqueline, but she knew she could see her smiling.

"And Jane Sloan needs to understand that Jacqueline Carlyle has a demanding job and many people -- and yes, even other mentees-- that work for her. And only so many hours in a day..."

Now Jane was pressing her lips to keep from laughing.

"So Jane Sloan must learn to share."

Something about that statement made her jealousy flare up again. Jane didn't want to share Jacqueline with anyone, much less cute twenty-something-year-old writers who Andrew referred to as "lovesick underlings." Feeling confident after Jacqueline's words, which had healed something inside of her, and exhaling hard through her nose, Jane finally dared to speak.

"Jane Sloan is... somewhat possessive," she said, in a dead-serious tone. "But she will do her best to... _share_."

At that, she finally looked at Jacqueline.

And promptly forgot how to breathe when she looked into her eyes.

It was Jacqueline's turn to exhale. She smiled warmly at Jane before breaking eye contact, pressing her hand above her knee and standing up.

Jane could still feel her hand on her leg, even after she had removed it.

Jacqueline was at the door when she turned around and said, "Ask Andrew to pencil you in on Friday so we can catch up."

"Okay," replied Jane with a big smile, eyes sparkling.

Looking at Jane with an exasperated yet loving look in her eyes, Jacqueline shook her head and said, "Here is something I shouldn't say."

"Jane Sloan is very cute when she's jealous."

At that, she left the room.

Leaving a speechless Jane behind.

Jane didn't know whether to laugh or cry or scream, but she knew one thing. Sutton had been wrong all along.

Green was her color after all.


End file.
